HUD Secretary in Savannah: New Program Can Save Many Public Housing Units (WSAV3)

HUD Secretary in Savannah: New Program Can Save Many Public Housing Units (WSAV3)

WSAV3
(1/15/2013 1:01 AM, Joan Merrigan)
A safe, decent place to live. It’s something all of us want, even the poorest among us.

While many turn to public housing, there are 10,000 to 15,000 public housing units lost each year because of lack of repairs and renovations to bring the units in compliance with health and safety codes.

Wednesday, Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan was in Savannah to make a major announcement he said will bring an infusion of private cash into the public housing arena to pay for renovations and to keep public housing alive for the thousands in Georgia who need it along with the tens of thousands of people nationwide.

"We can’t afford to lose this precious resource, we’ve got to keep a roof over families’ heads," Donovan told reporters.

"But we all know that our fiscal situation in Washington and across the country is tough. So, how are we going to find the resources to keep these apartments in decent, safe conditions and to allow kids growing up in those homes - a safe place to live?".

Donovan says the answer is changing HUD rules to allow more flexibility for local housing authorities and allow the participation of private lenders and developers.

The private lenders would offer financing and developers would revamp, redesign and renovate property.

The private participants would be rewarded with tax credits and in the case of developers, there are also new assurances that payments will be there long term.

The program is called RAD. And Donovan says it’s a true strategy to preserve tens of thousand of public and HUD-assisted housing units.

Right now he says there are up to one million public housing units that need $26 billion in repairs.

Congress normally approves about $2 billion in repairs annually so there’s a big gap.

Donovan says thus far, the new program has allowed HUD to award 112 initial commitments to 68 public housing authorities, meaning the local housing agencies can seek private financing to rehab units that might otherwise be lost.

In Savannah, four projects will be done over the course of the next year to rehab housing at Fred Wessels Homes, Blackshear Homes, Yamacraw Village and Stillwell Towers.

Donovan says there can be a set of problems in allowing private companies to operate in an arena that has been solely the territory of public housing authorities.

For one thing, he says the rights of tenants must be maintained and he says RAD requires that public housing tenants still have options under public housing rules.

"So we think we are getting the best that private enterprise has to offer," he told us.

"But let’s also recognize what doing nothing would mean. Doing nothing would mean losing lots of this public housing, we can’t do that anymore. We have to do something different to make sure we preserve that housing. And so compared to the alternative, this is a great way - at no cost to the taxpayer - to preserve this housing."

Donovan stressed that no new monies are being sought and in essence says that is what makes RAD so essential now.

He says the long waiting lists for public housing depend on RAD working.

"The long lines that we have waiting to get into public housing or to get a Section 8 voucher today, those lines would be even longer if we keep losing public housing," he said.

"And so what is important about this announcement today is at no cost to the taxpayer, it’s a way to preserve public housing and make sure those families that are waiting are going to have a place to go."